This Week's Sponsor:

Direct Mail

Professional Email Marketing Built Just for Mac Users

iOS 8 Family Sharing Explained: Share Purchases Between Family Members & Much More

Over the past few years it has been possible, but never easy, to have a family with iOS devices where everyone could share purchases but keep their own accounts for other purposes. Thankfully, Apple has recognised this pain point and introduced Family Sharing in iOS 8 which not only streamlines the ability to do certain things that were possible before, but also introduces some new features that makes having a family with iOS devices easier to manage.

To summarise the changes, everyone in a family can now have their own Apple ID but if they also enroll in Family Sharing they will be able to share App/iTunes Store purchases, Photos, location (Find My Friends/Find My iPhone), Reminders, and Calendar events between everyone. Most of that was possible pre-iOS 8 with some trickery and effort, but Family Sharing simplifies it significantly. What is new with Family Sharing is the ability for everyone to have their own Apple ID and share existing purchases or request purchases which will be made from one central account.

Read more

MyFitnessPal Adds HealthKit Support, Bringing Its Data to iOS 8’s Health App

Popular food tracker and calorie counter MyFitnessPal, available for free on the iPhone, iPad, web, and other platforms, has today introduced an update for iOS 8 users that adds support for Apple’s new Health app. I’ve been testing the updated MyFitnessPal, and I believe that Health integration has the potential to be a great way to let the app integrate with other services on iOS 8.

Read more

Apple: Record 4 Million Pre-Orders of iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Made in 24 Hours

Apple announced this morning that they had seen a record number of first day pre-orders with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with over 4 million pre-ordered in the first 24 hours. Apple notes that the demand well exceeds the initial pre-order supply and many iPhone customers aren’t scheduled to receive their iPhone until October. There will be some additional stock at Apple retail stores and mobile carrier stores on Friday.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available from this Friday in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.

The two iPhone models will also launch in another 20 countries on the following Friday, September 26, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

VARIDESK Adjustable Standing Desk [Sponsor]

It’s no longer a question, it’s a fact: sitting all day is bad for your health. The VARIDESK is a height adjustable standing desk that sits on top of your existing furniture, and allows you to raise from a seated to standing position in just 3 seconds.

It ships fully assembled, and is ready to use right out of the box. There are 4 models to choose from for single and dual monitors starting at just $275; VARIDESK has no fixed installation, there’s a risk free 30-day guarantee, and there’s even a desktop app to set the times you wish to sit and stand during the day.

You can learn more at VARIDESK.com.

Our thanks to VARIDESK for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Apple TV Update Now Available: New Design, Peer-to-Peer AirPlay & Family Sharing

The Apple TV has today received an update which brings a fresh new design that removes skeuomorphic flourishes, adds more vibrant colors and more closely matches the style of iOS 7/8 and OS X Yosemite. Besides the visual refresh, the update also adds support for peer-to-peer AirPlay and the new Family Sharing features in iOS 8.

Supported Apple TV Models

Today’s update is unfortunately only available for the 3rd generation of Apple TVs, which is the 1080p model currently on sale. If you’re not sure which model you have, have a look on the bottom of your Apple TV and if it says Model A1427 or A1469, then you have 3rd generation Apple TV which is eligible. Apple TVs with model number A1378 are unfortunately the 2nd generation models with the older A4 processor and aren’t eligible for the update.

Apple TV (3rd generation) users should be prompted to update their Apple TV when they next turn it on, but you can also manually update by going to Settings > General > Software Updates > Update Software.

Read more

The First Ferrari FF with CarPlay in Italy→

Ferrari:

The first FF equipped with the Apple CarPlay system has gone to an Italian client. Deliveries of the Ferraris sporting the innovative integrated Apple technology commenced over the last few days and the cars are now arriving at their final destinations and will hit the road all over the world. In Europe, they are bound for Germany, Great Britain, France and Switzerland while others have been dispatched to the United States and Japan.

We didn’t get any mention of CarPlay by Apple this week. I think the demo in Ferrari’s video looks pretty good. I wish I had that car to review it.

Permalink

A Watch Guy’s Thoughts On The Apple Watch→

The Apple Watch can take an integrated strap or bracelet, or one with wire lugs. It totally changes the look of the watch, and swapping them couldn’t be any easier. Changing straps is one thing, but the attention to detail on the straps and bracelets themselves is downright incredible, and when I mentioned above that nothing comes close in this price range, it is very visible when talking about straps.

I’ve argued that the Apple Watch is first and foremost a watch. Benjamin Clymer has a great analysis of Apple’s announcement from the perspective of a “watch guy” with a deep expertise in this field.

Permalink

Apple Watch Dimensions→

Apple didn’t announce a lot of specs of the Apple Watch besides the 2 different face sizes. There’s a 42 mm one and a 38 mm one. Thickness or screen size are nowhere to be found in Apple’s marketing material.

Based on the 42 mm Watch and several images on Apple’s website I did some measurements to determine some of the specs we don’t know yet.

Nice work by Paul Sprangers. To me, the watch looks as thick as many other watches in that price range on the market today. It’s interesting to imagine how this could look in four years (think original iPhone to iPhone 4).

Permalink